How to clean your home using green products in your pantry

If you look at the aisle in your supermarket which stocks cleaning products, you’ll be spoilt for choice. They promise you everything from sparkling dishes to gleaming floors. Flick through a magazine it’s the same deal, switch on the TV, some ‘expert’ is extolling the virtues of the next super product in home cleaning.

Did you know that these products contain harmful chemicals that cause all types of side effects in people including allergies, skin or respiratory irritations and even some cancers, not to mention wreaking havoc on plant and animal life when they are poured down the drain and into our ecosystems.

You can achieve the same superior cleaning results promised by these commercial products by using green, organic products found in your kitchen. The items found in your pantry are an excellent substitute and can save you time and money. In this post, we share these products and how to make natural cleaning products cheaply at home.

White vinegar

White vinegar is one of those commonly overlooked household products which is extremely versatile. It’s also non-toxic to human beings and inexpensive. If you want to clean your fridge, mix water and vinegar in equal parts in a spray bottle and use to mop spills. It also cuts through grease and removes any bad smells. Want to have clean, gleaming windows? Use the same mixture as above and dry with a clean cloth or newspaper.

Baking soda

This is one of my favourite products to use in the home for cleaning. It’s purely sodium bicarbonate which used in baking helps dough and cakes to rise. Baking soda or bicarbonate soda also has a number of uses when it comes to cleaning your home. Do you have oily stains on your food containers? Add a bit of baking soda to your sponge, clean and rinse. Have stubborn soap scum stuck to your shower walls and tub? Use baking soda to wipe it away and rinse with water. The bicarb soda will also prevent soap scum from sticking to it and get your tub staying cleaner for longer. For more uses in the home, check out this useful post by Good Housekeeping on the many ways you can use baking soda in your home.

Lemon

Ah! Nothing smells better than a yellow, freshly squeezed lemon in water or over salad. Lemon is one of nature’s super cleaners that cuts through grease and is a natural disinfectant and stain remover. Do you get hit by unpleasant odours each time you open your fridge or dustbin? The answer is half a lemon cut and placed inside the fridge or using a few drops of lemon oil to clean out your garbage bins. Next time you make lemonade, don’t throw away the peels. Use them to make an excellent all-purpose house cleaner.

Essential oils

One of my ultimate aims is to get my home smelling beautifully. If you love subtle wafts of fragrances too, don’t buy air fresheners, simply add a few drops of essential oils like lemon to your cleaning solution and your home will smell citrusy and fresh. Other oils you can use are; peppermint, tea tree oil, rosemary, thyme etc.

Many essential oils are popular in household cleaning products because they kill germs and naturally remove grease.

Get creative and make your own cleaning products – your body, nature and pocket will thank you for it!